Today, a report surfaced on Basketball Network from Bruno Feliks regarding former Sun Vasilije Micic commenting on Kevin Durant’s frustration in Phoenix.
“He’s surprised at how little he was used in Phoenix as an example, considering what he’s doing. KD often has that uncomfortable body language, but he’s actually a cool guy. That’s just his protection, he has his reasons for being that way, but he’s very open to conversation. He’s extra intelligent. We used to talk, and his basketball vision is on a completely
different level, from understanding to analyzing the opponent,” Micic stated.
The article added: “Vasilije Micic saw firsthand how much KD works when the cameras are off, and how surprised he was that the rest of the Suns weren’t on his level.”
Micic was acquired at the trade deadline from Charlotte in the Nurkic deal and only appeared in 5 games. He did not score a single point and and all of his minutes came in garbage time. Phoenix declined the team option on his contract this summer.
It’s an interesting source for this type of quote for someone who had a cup of coffee in Phoenix, especially with it being the end of the year when things started to spiral. There’s no telling what type of relationship those two may or may not have formed behind closed doors, but it was an odd twist in the news cycle today.
The Kevin Durant experiment in Phoenix was an absolute failure across the board. He did have his lowest usage rates of his career in Phoenix at 29.0 and 28.7 during his past two years with the Suns. His field goal attempts were about in the middle of the pack relative to his career numbers at 19.1 and 18.1 per game, respectively.
Should they have gotten him more involved? Does he have a right to be frustrated?
I think Suns fans who watched what was happening on a nightly basis can probably answer that for themselves. There are several parties to blame, and the frustration was likely mutual.
We’re at the point of the offseason where Micic quotes are worthy of articles. Hang in there, Suns fans. We’re ready to move on.
